So states of un-satisfaction, objects which we see or which reveal an absence are the only performances to which the individual recovers in susceptive uniqueness. The city might fix it or establish it but I see it an existence of our own as a chance to see what the city must and can do, without the power to do it. It's all very well and precise to say that Baudelaire had mysterious wishes to be like the stone in the statue without posing the ability. You cannot present the poet is eager to extract some petrifiable image from this of the past. But the images which he left are situated in a life which was open and infinate in Baudelaire's sense of the word.

[A time to ease your solace, a time to be so small]

We saw you from the urchin's side,
from under the boat
We saw you making knots,
we saw you get the rope
The boy appearing on the deck, you're making it lurch
The bubble of your interest's ready to burst, burst

He whistles and he runs

[Oooooooh]
[Ooooooooooh]
[Ooooooh]

We saw you in distraction:
a sleeping slow despair
Rehearsing interaction, he wasn't even there
A creature is a creature,
though you wish you were the wind
The boat will not stop moving
if you tie him up until the end

He whistles and he runs so hold him fast
Breathe the burn, he wants to let it last
He might succumb to what you haven't been
He has a keen eye for what you didn't see

When the cadaverous mob saves their doors for the dead men
You cannot leave
When the cadaverous mob saves it's doors for the dead men
You cannot leave

Ahhhhhhh

[Fancy summer's stall, a time to be so small]
[To the urchin, see our mirrored time for all]
[A summerside way of life, a time to be so small]
[Stronger by the urchin's side, a time to be so small]

[The urchin will lurch in there for this]
[The urchin will lurch in there for the facts]
[The urchin will lurch in there for the facts]
[The urchin will lurch in there for the facts]

Cadaverous mob saves their doors for the dead men
You cannot leave
When the cadaverous mob saves it's doors for the dead men
You cannot leave

[Lurching, lurching, searching, lurching]
[The urchin will lurch in there for the facts]
[The urchin will lurch in]

[It's all in the faded past]
[The bottom of the unwind]
[It's the end of the this]
[The bottom of the unwind]

55 Comments

My InterpretationI had never been the hugest fan of this song until very recently (this morning) it took hold of me, and though it may have my to do with my own life than I'd care to admit my interpretation is this:
An observer watching a woman fall for a man. The woman has never had the courage to tell anyone how she really feels but if she doesn't tell this particular guy (myself, if anyone's wondering about the significance to my own life), she'll lose him, (Not unlike the metaphor in the little mermaid).

The first verse tells the story of how she met him. Probably at work, she saw him more and more until they inevitably connected and their romance was born (or bubble burst).

The second verse is about how her passion for him intensified, "rehearsing interaction, he wasn't even there" I imagine masturbation, but that's just the Paul Banks part of my mind maybe. The whole theme to it seems like a passion growing but her resenting the fact that she is falling for him because she can't stand being vulnerable.

The chorus describes the man.
He whistles and he runs, (he has his own life and will be fine without her.)
Breathe the burn, you wanna let it last, (their sex is amazing, but casual romances are fleeting.)
But he might succumb to what she hasn't been. (If she can open up to him, he may fall for her too.)
He however has a keen eye for what you used to be, (he knows she is afraid of being vulnerable, but if she can't be vulnerable now, when would she ever be able to?)

Now my favourite line of the whole song:
When the cadaverous mob saves its doors for the dead men, you cannot leave.
I can hardly even describe what this means in my mind but imagine her finally being forced to make her decision about him. She can't hide in her fabricated cynicisms about love anymore.

When the cadaverous mob, (the mass of people who don't believe love exists,)
has saved its doors for the dead men, (don't line up with what she believes anymore so she either has to admit she cares for this gentleman or forever fade into romantic obscurity)
You cannot leave, (there's no way to put off this choice anymore, either she loves him and tells him, or she can't overcome her fears and loses him forever.)

General Commentreminds me of the murder scene from The Talented Mr. Ripley

yet, somehow the song almost has a...happy feel to it(not sure if that's the right word). Definetely not the kind of mood you'd expect to hear in a song presumably about murder...that's why i like it so much.

General Commentpaul banks said the song is about a father and son arguing on a boat. but the song is sung from the point of view of a crustacean watching from underneath the boat. i really havent discovered the meaning of the song yet.

My InterpretationI had never been the hugest fan of this song until very recently (this morning) it took hold of me, and though it may have my to do with my own life than I'd care to admit my interpretation is this:
An observer watching a woman fall for a man. The woman has never had the courage to tell anyone how she really feels but if she doesn't tell this particular guy (myself, if anyone's wondering about the significance to my own life), she'll lose him, (Not unlike the metaphor in the little mermaid).

The first verse tells the story of how she met him. Probably at work, she saw him more and more until they inevitably connected and their romance was born (or bubble burst).

The second verse is about how her passion for him intensified, "rehearsing interaction, he wasn't even there" I imagine masturbation, but that's just the Paul Banks part of my mind maybe. The whole theme to it seems like a passion growing but her resenting the fact that she is falling for him because she can't stand being vulnerable.

The chorus describes the man.
He whistles and he runs, (he has his own life and will be fine without her.)
Breathe the burn, you wanna let it last, (their sex is amazing, but casual romances are fleeting.)
But he might succumb to what she hasn't been. (If she can open up to him, he may fall for her too.)
He however has a keen eye for what you used to be, (he knows she is afraid of being vulnerable, but if she can't be vulnerable now, when would she ever be able to?)

Now my favourite line of the whole song:
When the cadaverous mob saves its doors for the dead men, you cannot leave.
I can hardly even describe what this means in my mind but imagine her finally being forced to make her decision about him. She can't hide in her fabricated cynicisms about love anymore.

When the cadaverous mob, (the mass of people who don't believe love exists,)
has saved its doors for the dead men, (don't line up with what she believes anymore so she either has to admit she cares for this gentleman or forever fade into romantic obscurity)
You cannot leave, (there's no way to put off this choice anymore, either she loves him and tells him, or she can't overcome her fears and loses him forever.)

General CommentI must agree-the song's mood is not happy at all. (to be an arse, the original version was better. As mentioned above, it had a more morose quality that gives the song a better feel and atmosphere.)